© 1998, 2010 FamilyLife

Published by Bethany House Publishers
11400 Hampshire Avenue South
Bloomington, Minnesota 55438
www.bethanyhouse.com

Bethany House Publishers is a division of
Baker Publishing Group, Grand Rapids, Michigan.
www.bakerpublishinggroup.com

Bethany House Publishers edition published 2014

ISBN 978-1-4412-6686-6

Previously published by Regal Books

Ebook edition originally created 2011

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—for example, electronic, photocopy, recording—without the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file at the Library of Congress, Washington, DC.

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the New American Standard Bible, © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

Other versions used are:

ASV—The American Standard Version, Thomas Nelson and Sons, first published in 1901.

ESV—Scripture taken from the English Standard Version, Copyright © 2001. The ESV and English Standard Version are trademarks of Good News Publishers.

NIV—Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved.

TLB—Scripture quotations marked (TLB) are taken from The Living Bible, copyright © 1971. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, IL 60189.

Contents

part one: preparing the groundwork

Introduction by Dennis Rainey

How to Use This Workbook

Worksheet 1: Understanding Your Personal History

Worksheet 2: Great Expectations

part two: laying the foundation

Chapter 1: Why Marriage?

Chapter 2: God’s Equation for Marriage: When One Plus One Equals One

part three: making the decision

Chapter 3: Evaluating Your Relationship

Chapter 4: A Decision-Making Guide

part four: building oneness

Chapter 5: Authentic Communication

Chapter 6: Roles and Responsibilities

Chapter 7: Money, Money, Money

Chapter 8: Intimacy: Sexual Communication in Marriage

Where Do We Go from Here?

Appendix A: Bonus: Parental Wisdom Questionnaire

Appendix B: Bonus: Couple Interview

Appendix C: Our Problems, God’s Answers

About the Writers

part one

preparing the
groundwork

Introduction

by Dennis Rainey

Not long after I graduated from the University of Arkansas, one of my good friends came to me for counsel. She was dating a young man who happened to be my best friend, and I knew what was happening in that relationship. She wanted to marry him, but he was hot and cold, uncertain of whether he was willing to commit himself to her.

For some reason, I had doubts about whether they should marry. So when she asked me for advice, I told her a parable I had recently heard:

A little boy named Johnny was ...